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Background: COVID-19 remains a major public health threat globally and dental practitioners are particularly at risk due to the proximity of care givers to the patient and the generation of aerosols during many dental treatment procedures. Dental practitioners are therefore required to strictly observe standard universal precautions in their clinical practice. Objectives: To determine the safety precaution and infection control practices among dental practitioners in Nigeria during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional self-administered pre-tested questionnaire based survey of consenting dental practitioners from different geopolitical zones in Nigeria was employed for the study. Study participants were recruited by non-random convenience sampling. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Results: A total of 105 out of 142 respondents completed and returned the survey questionnaire giving a response rate of 74%. About 24-55% of study respondents performed aerosol/splatter/droplet generating procedures. Hand hygiene and donning of face mask were the most common safety practices while the use of face shield and N95 facemask were common infection control practices. Over 60% of respondents practiced triaging of patients, pre-procedural mouth rinse and donning of disposable surgical gowns. Almost half of the respondents practiced decontamination of the clinic work environment and over 70% of respondents used N95 masks. Conclusion: Aerosol generating procedures were not uncommon dental practices in Nigeria during COVID-19 pandemic. However, use of N95 mask was relatively high and there was a reasonable level of practice of basic standard COVID-19 safety measures and infection prevention and control guidelines.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound effects on oral healthcare services globally. Objective: The main objective of this study was to determine the impact of COVID -19 pandemic lockdown on clinical dental practice in Nigeria and discuss how adverse impact could be mitigated. Methods: A cross-sectional self-administered pre-tested questionnaire-based survey of consenting dental practitioners from different States and geopolitical zones in Nigeria was employed for the study. Study participants were recruited by non-random convenience sampling. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. Results: A total of 105 out of 142 respondents completed and returned the survey questionnaire giving a response rate of 74%. While only about 47% of respondents in public sector practice had their clinics shut down, all the respondents in private sector practice (100%) had their clinics closed down during the pandemic lockdown and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.000). Majority of respondents in private sector practice (65.4%) experienced income loss compared to 24.1% of respondents in public sector practice and this difference was also statistically significant (p=0.000). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with government instituted lockdown periods with attendant scaling down or outright closure of dental clinical practices in Nigeria. The private sector practice bore the brunt of the adverse impacts of the pandemic lockdown in terms practice shutdowns and attendant economic losses. The adverse impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on clinical dental practice could be mitigated by the incorporation of teledentistry into routine dental practice.

There have been a growing number of patients demanding root canal treatment to save their teeth. This study aimed to determine the pattern of demand and treatment need for root canal treatments at a tertiary healthcare facility in Lagos, Nigeria and update the dental literature with the demand and pattern of root canal treatments as seen in Nigeria. This was a retrospective study. Data from 8239 patients treated at restorative dental clinic, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital from 2011 through 2014, were reviewed. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Version 26. Association between categorical variables was assessed using Chi square test. Significance level was set at p

Aims: The current study was designed to determine the frequency of usage of acrylic stock teeth in RPDs using variables such as age, gender, jaw quadrants and jaws respectively. Methods: This random retrospective study reviewed the laboratory cards of 2,266 adult patients who requested for RPDs from the Dental Centre of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria. Data on the frequency of usage of stock teeth relative to the sides of each jaw as well as both jaws, age and gender were recorded and analysed. Results: There were 2,774 acrylic partial dentures supplied during the period of study. Males (67.7%) used upper dentures compared to females (59.4%); and more females (40.6%) requested for lower dentures as against 32.3% males. A decline in the number of teeth replaced was seen progressively towards the posterior region of each jaw. No marked difference was seen between the distribution of teeth provided for the right and left sides of each jaw. There were more acrylic stock teeth demanded for the upper jaw compared to the lower jaw. Conclusion: The request for RPDs was more in females than males; though, more use of acrylic stock teeth were seen in males compared to females. There was no marked difference between the distribution of teeth provided for the right and left sides of each jaw. More acrylic teeth were used in the upper jaw compared to the lower jaw.